Adapter for talking-machines.



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

PLINY CATUCGI, OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO A. F. MEISSELBACH &BROTHER, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

ADAPTER: FOR TALKING-MACHINES.

Talking-Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My lnventionrelates to devices for use in connection with one of thewell known talking machines now on the market and is designed as anattachment to the tone arm of the machine so as to adapt the "sound boxfor use in playing any kind of disk record now on the market. Such diskrecords are made in various ways, as for example by the well knownBerliner method, whereby the record groove is in the form of a zig-zagspiral groove of uniform depth impressed in the record. The best resultswith such record are obtained by locating the sound box with itsdiaphragm in a plane perpendicular to the plane of the record disk, sothat the stylus needle across the direction of the record groove. Otherrecords made in accordance with the well known Edison method have thesound groove running in a spiral, but the sound waves are formed by a'series of successive elevations and excavations within the groove. -Inthis case, the sound box must have its diaphragm located in a planepassing substantially through the center of the record disk, butintersecting said disk at an acute angle.

In order that the stylus needle of the sound box may properly track inthe record groove, the parts must be adjusted so that the tone arm,swinging about its center,

must carry the point of the stylus in an arc which passes throughthecenter of the r0 tating disk record. If'the stylus point variesmaterially from this are, jump out of the grooveand race across the faceof the .disk to the obvious injury of the record and certainly spoilingthe rendition of the selection upon it.

It is the purpose of my improvement to provide a connectionfor the tonearm and Specification of Letters Patent.

may vibrate laterally I then it is liable to.

Patented Oct. 12, 19] 5;.

Application filed .Tanuary 28, 1914. Serial No. 814,867.

sound box of a talking machine, whereby the same sound box may beutilized for the reproduction of records either of the Berliner type orof the Edison type; thatis, the records in which the sound groove is azig-zag spiral of uniform depth, or where the sound record 15 made byexcavations and elevations. I

In carrying out my invention, I make use 'of the structure substantiallyas illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein-- Figure 1,illustrates a plan view of the tone arm and sound box of atalkingmachine with my improved adapter in position for playing records of theEdison type, and also in dotted lines, the sound box in posit1on forplaying records of the Berliner type. Fig. 2, is a side elevation of thesame showing in dotted lines the position occupied bythe sound box forthe reproduction of records of the Berliner type. Fig. is a top planview of my improved adapter. Fig. 4, is a right-hand end view. Fig. 5,is a bottom lan view. Fig. 6, is an end plan View sho ing the means forsecuring the adapter to the tone arm of the talking machine.

Similar letters of reference refer to like parts throughout thespecification and drawlngs.

My adapter consists of a tubular extension designed for connectiondirectly with the oscillating part of the tone arm of one of the wellknown talking machines now on sound box connecting thimble 8. Upon oneside of the short connecting thimble 2, I

integral with the provide a projection 9,

but split as shown solid body of the thimble,

-..at 10, by means of a saw kerf. The p'rojec tion is also slit awayfrom the body of the thimble at 11. Threaded through the parts of thisprojection 9, is the thumb screw 12, by means of which the thimble2, maybe contracted and expanded to grip the outer end of the our i 1.11:2 L'iifiliel' 13, of the tone arm 11..

The thimble 8, car is reduced in diameter siight re the connectingthimble 15, of the sound. box 16. The latter may be of any usual orpreferred type, and for the purpose of illustration, I have shown theone disclosed in my Patent #1.,O59,3+t(3 of {iii 22, 1913. The side ofthe thimble is provided with a slot 17, which is designed to receive apin (not shown) extending inwardly from the thimble 15, for properlypositioning the sound box upon the adapter. The sound box thimble 15, isprovided with a circumferential groove 18, to receive the bent end ofthe holding spring 19, the latter being secured to the elbow 7 of theadapter through the boss 20, and screw 21.

It will be noted 'that the direction of the axis of the thimble 8, liesslightly out of the main axial plane of the adapter, as clearlyillustrated in Fig. The degree of this angularity depends upon the kindof reproduccr. and stylus to be used, but ordi-' narily I havefound'that the angle between the axis of the thimble 8, and the mainaxial plane of the adapter should be about 15 degrees. W-

As indicated in Fig. 2, the tone arm 1 1,

is pivoted at 22, upon the supporting arm 23,.to swing in the arc of acircle about the pivot 22. The distance between the pivot 22, and thecenter of rotation 24, of the record disk, should be such that the pointof the stylus 25, upon the sound box should swing in the are 26, of acircle passing .through the center 24. If for any reason the stylusfalls upon the face of the record at a point materially away from thisarc, either one side or the other, the stylus will not properly track asheretofore indicated. It, therefore, has been necessary to provide theadapter with what may be termed reverse bends, so that in practice thestylus of the sound box attached thereto will swing in the same are ofthe circle passing through the center 24, of the rotating disk record,as is the case where the sound box is connected directly to theoscillating member13, as indicated in Fig. 1.

It will thus be seen that-with the use of my improvement upon talkingmachines of the kind illustrated in the drawings for playing records ofthe Berliner type, the same sound box may be'us'ed for playing recordsof the so called Edison type. In the first case, the sound box isconnected directly to the oscillating nien'iber 13, as shown in dottedlines both in Figs. 1 and 2, in which case the point of the stylusswings in the are 26, passing through the center of rotation 24, of therecord. With the adapter in place, the same sound box 16, with the pointof its stylus '25, is'made to swing in From a reference to Fig. 2, ofthe drawing, it will be noted that the general plane of the sound boxbody 16, coincides substantially with the axis passing through the outerterminus of the oscillating member 13, of the tone arm. In order toaccomplish this result, it will be noted that the thimble 8, must beconsiderably shorter than the tubular part 4:, of the adapter so thatthe open end of the thimble 8 lies outside 01 what would be the tubularend 2, if the same were rearwardly extended;

I claim: p

1. An adapter for talking machines comprising a tubular member having atone arm clamping thimble at one end and a soundgrees with the mainaxial plane of said tubular member.

2. An adapter for talking machines com- I prising a rigid tubular memberhaving a clamping thimble at one end for connection to the tone arm of atalking machine, said tubular member being reversely bent between itsends to bring its outer, free end substantially at right angles to saidclamping thimble with the extreme free end opening to the rear of andtoward the extended axis of said clamping thimble.

3. An adapter for talking machines co prising a tubular member having aclam ing thimble at one end thereof adaptedfor securing said member tothe oscillating goose neck of a talking machine tone arm, said memberbeing reversely bent to bring its opposite end to the rear of the axisof and at right anglesto the clamping thimble with the axis of saidopposite end lying at an angle of substantially 15 degrees above themain axial plane of the tubular member.

I 4. An adapter for talking machines comprising a tubular sectionhaving-rectangular elbows at'each end thereof, the outer ends of saidelbows lying at an angle of 15 de grees apart, a second tubular sectionintegral with one of said elbows, and a rectangular elbow and aclampingdevice upon the free end of said second section, the axis .ofsaid last named elbow lying forward of the open end of the elbow at theopposite end.

In a device of the class described, the combination of a tone armpivoted to swing in a horizontal plane, a pivoted goose-neck upon thefree end of said tone arm, and a rigid tubu] r adapter secured. to thethe center of rotationcf the talking machine end of sai pose-neck, saidadapter being reversely Tn to bring its free end to -the rear of theextended axis of theouter end I. of said goose neck whereby when a Soundbox is secured to the freeemi 0f said adapter the stylus of said sounidbox "will wing in the are of a circle passing'through recgwd. V m

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 23rd dayof'January, 1914.

PLINY CATUGGI. In presence of,

NORMAN E. ZUSI, LOUIS M. SANDERS.

